'How Could I Leave My Son?' Mother Wraps Blanket On Soldiers Statue In Cold

In a poignant display of maternal love, Jaswant Kaur, the mother of Constable Gurnam Singh, draped a blanket around his statue in Jammu, shielding him from the biting cold.  

For Jaswant Kaur, Gurnam is not just a soldier who was killed in action; he is her living, breathing son, forever etched in her heart. 

"I am a mother, and in this piercing cold, where we struggle to keep ourselves warm, how could I leave my son's statue exposed to the bone-chilling cold?" she said. 

Gurnam was shot in 2016 on the night of October 21-22, in the Hira Nagar sector, defending India's borders against Pakistani aggression. A sniper's bullet took his life, but he will forever be etched in the nation's memory.

A day before he was killed, Gurnam had thwarted an infiltration bid, killing one terrorist and sending others fleeing. Under the garb of heavy shelling, the Pakistani army was trying to push a group of terrorists into the Indian side; however, alert Gurnam stood like a wall, thwarting their attack.

Kulwinder Singh, Jaswant's brother, said, "If you see the tricolour fluttering, it's not just because of blowing wind; it's the last breath of soldiers like Gurnam and others on the ground."

"For others, Gurnam is just another soldier who gave his life for the nation. But for his mother, he is a son, a part of her very being," said Ashwani, Jaswant's neighbour.